Science & Technology

G7 agrees to promote ‘responsible’ use of artificial intelligence

Tokyo, Apr 30 (EFE).- Digital and technology ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) agreed Sunday to promote a “responsible” use of artificial intelligence (AI) given the progress of this technology and its potential use to undermine democracy and violate people’s privacy.

“Given that generative AI technologies are increasingly prominent across countries and sectors, we recognize the need to take stock in the near term of the opportunities and challenges of these technologies and to continue promoting safety and trust as these technologies develop,” the ministers of the world’s most developed economies said in a joint statement after a two-day meeting in Japan.

“We acknowledge the need for agile, more distributed and multi-stakeholder governance and legal frameworks, designed for operationalizing the principles of the rule of law, due process, democracy, and respect for human rights while harnessing the opportunities of innovation,” they added.

During the meeting held in Takasaki, some 107 kilometers (66 miles) northwest of Tokyo, the ministers also decided to endorse a plan for “an open and enabling environment for AI development and deployment that is grounded in human rights and democratic values.”

The plan urges the members to actively participate in the development of international standards on AI policies and regulations and to promote dialog on issues such as risk assessment.

The digital and technology ministers of the G7 – comprising Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom – and the European Union also pledged to promote the construction of more secure and resilient digital infrastructures for developing and emerging economies and to extend secure routes of submarine cables.

“We remain committed to protecting our democratic institutions and values from foreign threats, including foreign information manipulation and interference, disinformation and other forms of foreign malign activity that seek to undermine democracy and the ideals that open societies are founded on,” they added in reference to Russian’s war on Ukraine.

The G7 resolves “to cooperate in making visible and tackling the tactics of digital authoritarianism, and seek to strengthen cooperation in addressing practices such as Internet shutdowns, network restrictions and digital mass-surveillance that violate international human rights law,” the ministers said, a message that seems to be aimed at China, where digital surveillance and other high-tech tools are believed to be used to stifle freedom of expression and violate other fundamental rights and freedoms.

Also present at the meeting were ministers from Ukraine as well as India and Indonesia, which are respectively hosting the meetings of the G20 group, made up of the world’s most developed and emerging economies, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year. EFE

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